Legend of Mana, preview – Nerd4.life

A great little 2D

Legend of Mana is, in fact, the son of a kind of dream team. The processing was directed by Koichi Ishii, the creator of the series, while the role of producer was entrusted to Akitoshi Kawazu, who had already directed and produced various SaGa for Square Enix. The team also included Akihiko Matsui, who had directed Chrono Trigger, and Yoko Shimomura, composer without any introduction. Perhaps it was precisely the alternation of such different perspectives that made Legend of Mana an even too peculiar title, in tune with the past of the series: those who expected a traditional and linear adventure were quite burned, and indeed Seiken Densetsu IV, despite having sold very well at launch, it was coldly received precisely for the distance it took from previous titles. Who knows … maybe today, in this market that continually seeks diversification and originality, it could go differently.

On one thing, however, they all agreed: in 1999 that graphics were sublime. Determined to realize the softness of the fantasy world he imagined, Ishii stuck to 2D graphics rather than a 3D that couldn’t do it justice. The result is beautifully animated sprites, scenarios that look like hand-painted, in a combination that appealed so much to critics and audiences that Square was also convinced to use it in another title of the same year: SaGa Frontier 2, which we will probably see again soon. The game therefore maintains the visual setting of the previous Seiken Densetsu, namely the top-down perspective that allows players to move freely in the eight directions, within the boundaries of the scenario represented on the screen. We speak in the plural, because in the PlayStation version a second player could take control of the battlemate of the silent protagonist. We don’t know if the new remastered edition will also allow the multiplayer in locale, but otherwise you can always entrust the wingmen to artificial intelligence.

The combat system in real time it focuses on the use of a large variety of weapons, which can be found or manufactured and upgraded, and on the association of a series of special techniques to the various keys of the controller: once the appropriate indicator is filled by beating the enemies , just press the right key combination to unleash a devastating special attack, often associated with various natural elements. Obviously there are also spells and consumables, and in this sense Legend of Mana does not differ particularly from previous titles, such as Trials of Mana: common enemies alternate with gigantic bosses to be defeated to complete the main and secondary missions. It is at this point, however, that Legend of Mana takes a very particular drift, because we create the world we need to explore by placing the Artifact found on a kind of grid: each opens a new scenario in which the value of natural elements affects the power of enemies and our abilities.

For those who love to experiment, Legend of Mana is a very rich title, but it must be admitted that this system Land Make it is not really intuitive and a bit of tests and counter-tests must be done to understand it better. At the same time, this means that the Square Enix title guarantees excellent longevity, thanks also to a bizarre progression system. In addition to the side missions, which are numerous and often random, there is a plot that develops through three main storylines. They form a larger drawing, but it is not necessary to complete all three to start the final chapter of the game, only one. The player can therefore decide which storyline to follow, determining not only the supporting actors who will support him, but also the ending of the adventure. The story, in fact, revolves all around the efforts of the player who, playing a depersonalized protagonist, must rebuild the world of Fa’Diel in a sort of reinterpretation of The Neverending Story in JRPG sauce.

–